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    Home » DIY Learning Toys

    Published: Nov 19, 2018 · Modified: Nov 18, 2019 by Fynn · All activities should be supervised by an adult. This post may contain affiliate links.

    Milk Carton Chimney - A DIY Kids Advent Calendar

    Inside: Step by step tutorial to make this fun kids advent calendar with milk carton. Watch Santa move down the chimney every day!

    A DIY Christmas Countdown Toy Every December

    Create a fun Christmas Countdown toy every December has officially become a family tradition. To save myself from answering this question "When is Christmas Day?" 12637 times a day and for my kids to have fun counting down to their favorite holiday.

    Our most popular kids advent calendar idea ever!

    This idea had over 4.7M views and 75K shares on Facebook last year! I really can't claim credit to this idea, I saw this toy selling at Target but why buy it when I can make it with stuffs I have at home?

    Have your kid pull out a popsicle stick each day and watch Santa move down the chimney and finally reach your fireplace on Christmas Day!

    Milk carton chimney Christmas countdown
    Milk carton chimney Christmas countdown
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids

    What you need

    • 25 6" jumbo popsicle sticks
    • 2 milk cartons
    • A small Santa cutout (around 2" tall)
    • Red and green construction papers
    • Hot glue
    • Duplo blocks to make a cube
    • Stationery like permanent marker, penknife, a pair of scissors, double-sided tape/ glue, ruler
    • A cardboard base

    MAKE THIS COUNTDOWN Toy!

    I have a video tutorial here or simply follow the steps below.

    • Cut off the top part of the milk cartons.
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids
    • Draw a line 1" from both edges of one side of a milk carton. Cut along the lines and remove the center piece. Repeat this step for the second milk carton.
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids
    • Using hot glue, stick both milk cartons (open tops together) together to form a long column.
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids
    • With the open column facing you, turn to the right of the column, draw a center line and 25 small lines down the center line, each 0.5" apart.
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids
    • With the open column facing you, turn to the left of the column and repeat above step.
    • Using a sharp penknife, make small slits on the 25 small lines on both sides of the column. The slits must be be enough for a jumbo popsicle stick to go through.
    • Enlarge the slits by pushing two jumbo popsicle sticks into each slit. This makes it easier for the children to pull each popsicle stick out.
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids
    • Cut 25 small green rectangles, each 0.5" by 1" in size. Fold each small rectangle in half and write numbers 1 to 25 on them. Keep the numbers to one side of the rectangles.
    • Using glue/ double-sided tape, attach each small green rectangle on the end of a popsicle stick, with the numbers hanging down.
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids
    • Cut 4 strips of red tape each 1" thick. Paste them on the milk carton columns, where there is an opening. Draw lines to make the column look like a chimney.
    • Cut and draw a fireplace (2.5" tall). Paste it at the bottom of the chimney.
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids
    • Make a cube with the Duplo blocks and stick the small Santa cutout on it.
    • Cut a hole at the top of the column, the hole must be big enough for the Duplo cube to fit in.
    • Using hot glue, secure the chimney on the cardboard base.
    • Now insert the popsicle sticks through the slits, beginning with 1 at the top to 25 at the bottom. The popsicle stick with 25 should end up at the last slit just above the fireplace.
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids
    Christmas Countdown activity for kids

    The DIY advent calendar is completed!

    Need more fun and gift-less kids advent calendar ideas?

    I rounded up several great ideas to countdown to Christmas here. Share with me how you are counting down to Christmas this year!

    Pin this to your Best Christmas Ideas Board!

    Milk Carton Chimney Christmas Countdown

    Join the Happy Tot Shelf community and get my best learning ideas to nurture a love for learning in your children. Yes please!

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    About Fynn

    Fynn is a Math and Science teacher from Singapore, author of The Happy Learning Book for Siblings and founder of Happy Tot Shelf. She helps parents enjoy home learning with their children through her highly popular kids' activity membership, The Happy Learners' Club. Fynn has been featured in various newspapers, websites and on radio shows as an expert in early childhood learning and creative hands-on learning ideas.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Maren Spurgeon says

      November 28, 2018 at 9:14 am

      Would be even more fun with actions or good deeds to perform written on each stick.

      Reply
      • happytotshelf says

        December 05, 2018 at 10:30 pm

        Such a great idea!!!

        Reply
    2. Jenny says

      November 26, 2020 at 9:55 am

      Love this! I would just reverse the number order to reflect a countdown.

      Reply
    3. Cristina says

      November 20, 2021 at 8:04 am

      I love it. Great idea. Very cute.

      Reply

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    Hi there, I'm Fynn, an educator, author and mom of 3. I believe nurturing a love of learning begins at home. I'm here to help parents nurture a love of learning and build a strong bond with their children through fun learning together.

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